I'm a big fan of the walking type of hanami "not the stereotypical hanami party like a gorified picnic, which people put out some food and drink and sit under the trees and eat, drink and enjoy each other's company.

People enjoy haanmi season simply by walking on paths that are lined with sakura tress.

glorified  adj)実際よりよく見せた･美化された･見せかけの

The last time we were on the pod together, we talked about cultural trends and highlights in 2022. You also recently spoke to Jason about the evolution of Yayoi Kusama. Now, you're taking a little detour and you've written a piece about sakura forecasting. What piqued your interest in this subject?

ー Well, first of all, great point, Alyssa. I am not a science reporter. I'm not here in the capacity of being climate change expert. But I have always been interested since I moved to Japan in the sakura forecast, because I think it is kind of a unique part of culture here. And I was really curious, like, you know, I would see these lists of like "Who is recording this?" Is it just like a guy? But you know, how I pictured was a guy with white gloves, and a magnifying glass every day going out and checking the difference in the diameter of these flowers.

evolution   n)進化・発展

detour　n)回り道･迂回･遠回り

piece　n)全体の一片･部品･ピース

pique　v)好奇心を刺激する

with white gloves   念入りな

glove   /glʌv/　n)手袋

magnify   v)大きく見せる･拡大する

diameter　n)直径、倍率

sorely needed

💢It was a sorely needed vacation.

sorely  sorely is more like "terribly" than "very" 

👄It was sorely needed relaxation/a lot of calories.

👄English was sorely need in overseas.

I was up in ....

I was up in Sichuan, China at that time.

Christmas or New Year's back home

unwelcome disaster

T: What a lot of people may not know is that Japan has a long tradition of cannabis farming. So for centuries, hemp has been grown for fiber and it was also used in clothing, ropes at Shinto shrines and fishing nets. Also, shichimi togarashi, which is a popular spice, also contains hemp seed. So there are cannabis farmers, although their number has been declining, and a loophole was created in the 1948 cannabis law to allow them to continue their work, because they may accidentally inhale the cannabis they grow.

S: Accidentally?

T: Yes, accidentally when they harvest it.

S: OK.

T: What I found interesting is that the Cannabis Control Law even extends to Japanese nationals living in or visiting countries where the possession or use of cannabis is legal.

S: So if a Japanese citizen say travels to Canada and partakes in a joint maybe at a Drake show, they could be prosecuted? Is there any real way to prosecute something like that? Do you know of any cases?

T: No, I haven't heard of any case where a Japanese national is arrested for their pot use in countries where it's legal. I haven't heard of Japanese authorities going after or randomly testing Japanese people about their cannabis use abroad, either.

S: When Canada legalized marijuana back in 2018, freelance writer and law expert Colin P.A. Jones wrote a piece for The Japan Times about that very topic titled, "Jail in Japan for cannabis in Canada? Possible but unlikely." He looked more broadly at Japanese citizens committing other crimes abroad, specifically focusing on the case of suspected wife-murder Kazuyoshi Miura. So in that case, Miura had reported that "thugs" had killed his wife in Los Angeles. And when he was back in Japan, police received new evidence that he may have been involved in procuring those thugs. I don't want to take the podcast off track with this, but he ends up behind bars and is then acquitted and starts suing the media for presenting him as quote unquote, "guilty," specifically mentioning that he was shown in handcuffs on TV. So apparently, because of him, handcuffs on Japanese television are now blurred.

 

hemp　n)アサ･大麻

tradition　n)伝統･慣習･しきたり

fiber   n)繊維･食物繊維

decline　v)下方に傾斜する･減少する

loophole   n)抜け穴

inhale　v)吸い込む

harvest　/'hɑːvɪst/　/'hɑːrvɪst/　n)収穫　v)収穫する

extend　v)引き伸ばす･拡張する･拡大展開する

national   adj)国の･国民の　n)国民

possession　/pə'zəʃn/　n)所有、入手、不法所持

partake   v)参加する

Drake　カナダ出身のラッパー

prosecute　/'prɒsɪkjuːt/　/'prɑːsɪkjuːt/　v)推し進める

pot　n)容器、植木鉢、ポット、マリファナ

go after  追いかける

randomly test　selecting people for a test arbitrarily

arbitrarily　/,ɑːbɪ'trerəli/   /,ɑːrbɪ'trerəli/　adv)任意に･勝手気ままに

randomly　/'rændəmli/   adv)不定期に･ランダムに

either   /'aɪðər/　/'iːðər/　[否定文]どちらの～でもない

piece n)一片･かけら、部品

very　adv)典型的な･いかにも

unlikely　adj)可能性が低い、思いもよらない、似合わない

broadly　adv)広く･大まかに･概して　　

commit   /kə'mɪt/　verb   時間･金などを注ぎ込む

★ commit something to spend money or time on something/somebody

specifically　adv)特に･とりわけ

thug   n)凶悪犯･殺し屋

be involved in   ～に関与している

procure   v)手に入れる･入手する、斡旋する

behind bars　鉄格子の中で･獄中で

be acquitted   罪を問われない

acquit   v)無罪とする

sue   v)訴える

present　v)問題などを引き起こす

quote　v)引用する、証拠として示す

quote unquote   いわゆる 

guilty　adj)有罪の、罪意識のある

handcuff　n)手錠　v)手錠をかける

in handcuff   手錠をかけられて

apparently　adv)見たところ

blurred　adj)はっきりしない･かすんでいる

Japan's borders have opened to foreign tourists. That may be bad news for Mount Fuji, which is now completely booked this summer, but it's good news for Fuji Rock as the music festival pulls in 引っ張りこむ some major international names. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us to discuss Japan's two favorite Fujis.

Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating しかる(rete) ,reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you've enjoyed it. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

Transcript 記録簿 note: Deep Dive is made to be listened to, and we recommend this transcript be used as an accompaniment 付属物･つきもの to the episode. This transcript has been generated 生み出す･発生させる using a combination of speech recognition 認識 software and human transcription, and may contain errors. Please check its accuracy 精度 against the episode.

S: Welcome to Deep Dive from The Japan Times, I'm Shaun Mckenna. Four years ago, I made my debut ﾃﾞﾋﾞｭｰ･門出 on this podcast, then hosted by Oscar Boyd as he recorded my first ever trek up Mount Fuji. 

O: Shaun Mckenna, you're standing at the top of Mount Fuji in 2 degrees temperature, ferocious 恐ろしい･猛烈な winds. Do you remember how we got here?　　　　　　　　　  

S: I don't know. I don't know if I can remember anything right now.

S: The climb was thrilling, challenging, and definitely one of the highlights of my time here in Japan. The peak is 3,776 meters high, and it's an active volcano. So the hike  is not a walk in the park by any means.（否定文で）どのような意味でもそうではない⇒決して～でない

周囲の状況に関して言うなら、、、

If I say, with regard to circumstances...about

circumstances 周囲の状況、ことの次第

So where does Japan stand   with regard to   the coronavirus then?

日本はコロナに関してどのような状態に位置していますか？

Well, Japan got hit pretty hard by the BA5 omicron subvariant this summer, but total deaths still sit under 46,000, and more than 80% of the country has received at least two vaccinations, and more than 65% have received the booster. And the fourth shot, another booster, is being rolled out now. Also, the Japanese are still using hand sanitizer before they enter shops, and they're still masking.

stand v)立っている、(...の状態に)立つ、(つらいことに)立ち向かう

stand with〈人を〉賛成･支持する

with/in regard to...　...に関して

regard ｩﾘガｧ-ﾄﾞｩ  v)関心をもって見守る･じっと見守る　n)注視･関心･配慮･尊重

then　あのその時、次に、その結果

get hit by...   ...に見舞われる･打撃を受ける

sub-　サﾌﾞ 接頭辞)下･下位･副･やや･半 ⇔ super-

variant ヴｪｧﾘｱﾝﾄ n)異なるもの･異形　adj)変化しやすい

subvariant

sit　v)じっと座っている→変化しない

the country　国家に属する全ての人々･国民

booster ブ-ｽﾀｧｰ n)後押しする人、電気のブースター

roll ｩロ-ｳﾙ v)転がる

rolled out　n)のたうつ･地面に転がり苦しみもがく

sanitizer サﾆﾀｲｻﾞｰ n)消毒剤

中断

hiatus ﾊｲエｲﾀｽ　n)中断、脱落、落ち、すき間

The podcast is on hiatus for the next few months.